Franklin: Dean College grads urged to seek truth, dreams

She wanted to be a role model for her two daughters and pursue the dreams she had once set aside to raise a family.

She wanted to make it up “the mountain,” she said.

And on Saturday, standing before hundreds of her fellow Dean College graduates and a rain-enduring crowd, the business management student was surely, finally, at the top.

“The road was long, hard and at times bumpy,” the Medway resident said.

She juggled school with her parental responsibilities and a full-time job.

“But failure was never an option because I wanted to be an example of hard work and perseverance for my daughters.”

The words of encouragement were among many shared at the school’s 151st commencement, where close to 375 total students - coming from 22 states and nine countries - received either a bachelor's or associate degree.

As rain and wind kept attendees covered in ponchos and umbrellas, many graduates still walked down the aisle with a smile on their face.

They were a bit nervous and definitely wet, but nonetheless excited, student speaker Valerie Davis said.

She offered her fellow graduates a bit of trivia and asked if they knew that otters sleep while holding hands, not to let themselves drift from one another.

Others at the podium urged graduates to pursue their goals, yes, but also, truth.

“Actively seek out the truth,” said Paula Rooney, the college's president. “Continue as you have at Dean, to listen and to respectfully consider all of the points of view.”

Borrowing a line from the hit Netflix television show, “Stranger Things,” Board of Trustees Chairman Mark Boyce told the graduates they should not not like something simply because others tell them that they’re supposed to.

“Gather your own thoughts,” Boyce said. “Make up your own mind then make the world a better place, giving back what you’ve learned.”

After all, there is always a need for helping others, Rooney said.

“Frankly, our world desperately needs more selfless acts of kindness and true support,” she said.

Since they started school a few years ago, graduates are now entering a different world, too. There’s a different U.S. president and an economy that has steadily improved over recent years.

But graduates had mixed thoughts on whether those factors would make the job market more favorable, or even just a little friendlier.

“It’s definitely hard because I’ve reached out to a lot of people and they haven’t gotten back to me,” said Gabriela Fieger, 23, a psychology student from Boston looking to enter the human resources field.

Ashton Durham, a 22-year-old arts and entertainment management student from Bermuda, said he thinks there are always going to be jobs available.

“It’s just hard looking for them,” he said.

Regardless of what they choose to do next though, Laven said they could celebrate in the meantime.

“We can all hold our hard-earned diplomas and scream at the top of our lungs that, ‘We have made it,’” she said.

Christopher Gavin can be reached at 508 634-7582 or cgavin@wickedlocal.com. Follow him on Twitter @c_gavinMDN